Photo: Anonymous Unknown author · Public domain · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regional
Ralph Benatzky
Person · male · Austria · Moravské Budějovice · born 1884 · died 1957 · recording since 1954
Czech Austrian composer
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Also known as Rudolph Josef František Benatzky · ラルフ・ベナツキー
Timeline
5 events▣ Album 2◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1† Death 1
1880s
1950s
· Debut release
Debut release: Von Wien in die Welt: Melodien von Ralph Benatzky
First documented EP in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1980s
Biography
English biography375 words · 2 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1370777665
Biography
Ralph Benatzky (5 June 1884 – 16 October 1957) was a Czech-Austrian composer. He composed operas and operettas, such as Casanova (1928), Die drei Musketiere (1929), The White Horse Inn (1930) and Meine Schwester und ich (1930).
Life
He was born Rudolf Josef František (Rudolph Josef Franz) Benatzky on 5 June 1884 in Moravské Budějovice, Moravia, Austria-Hungary. He was born to a Czech mother and ethnically German father, who taught at a German school. From 1899, he studied at a real school in Litoměřice, but was soon expelled. He continued his studies in Vienna. He graduated from German studies at the University of Vienna and received a doctorate in music at the German Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague. He was a pupil of Antonín Dvořák.
His first job after his studies was as a conductor and kapellmeister in Munich, and in the following years he worked in several small cabarets, for which he wrote songs, lyrics and smaller operettas. In 1914, he became the director of the Rideamus cabaret in Vienna. In 1913, his first full-length operetta Der lachende Dreibund premiered in Berlin, but it was not until the operetta Liebe im Schnee, which premiered in Vienna in 1916, that he achieved success. Further successes were the operettas Prinzchens Frühlingserwachen and Yuschi tanzt, performed mainly in Austria. Following their success, he moved from Austria to Berlin in 1930, where he became a popular author of musical comedies. Here he wrote best known works, the operettas The White Horse Inn (1930) and Meine Schwester und ich, which were international success.
Benatzky was twice married to Jewish women: Josma Selim, a singer, and Melanie "Mela" Hoffmann, a dancer. For that reason, Benatzky was often mistakenly referred to as Jewish due to an error published in a book of Jewish musicians during World War II.
Because of his Jewish wife, Benatzky had to leave Germany and went to the United States. Here he also worked in Hollywood, but did not achieve success.
In 1946, after World War II ended, Benatzky returned to Europe and lived in Switzerland. He died on 16 October 1957 in Zurich, aged 73. He is buried in St. Wolfgang im Salzkammergut, Austria, where the plot of his most famous operetta The White Horse Inn takes place.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 18 | 78.1th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 3 | 77.1th |
| Studio albums | 2 | 78.8th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 5 | 78.8th |
| Recording span (years) | 3 | 15.8th |
| Genres | 3 | 80.4th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (3 release groups · 2 studio albums)
Albums · 2
1981 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 15 tracks
A1Im weißen Rößl: IntroduktionA2Im weißen Rößl: „Aber meine Herrschaften“A3Im weißen Rößl: „Im weißen Rößl am Wolfgangsee“A4Im weißen Rößl: „Es muß was Wunderbares sein“A5Im weißen Rößl: „Der Zauber der Saison“A6Im weißen Rößl: „Im Salzkammergut“A7Im weißen Rößl: „Die ganze Welt ist himmelblau“A8Im weißen Rößl: „Zuschau’n kann ich nicht“B1Im weißen Rößl: „Erst wann’s aus wird sein“B2Im weißen Rößl: „Was kann der Sigismund dafür“B3Im weißen Rößl: „Mein Liebeslied muß ein Walzer sein“B4Im weißen Rößl: „Verehrter Bürgermeister und Gemeinderat“ (Quodlibet: Wien, Wien, nur du allein / Yes Sir / Im Salzkammergut / Wien bleibt Wien / Es muß was Wunderbares sein)B5Im weißen Rößl: Kaisers Lied „S’ist einmal im Leben so“B6Im weißen Rößl: „Als der Herrgott den Mai gemacht“B7Im weißen Rößl: „Zuschau’n brauch’ ich nicht“ / Finale1988 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 32 tracks · 1:13:53
1Im weißen Rössl, Act I. Introduktion (Reiseführer)2:552Im weißen Rössl, Act I. "Aber meine Herrschaften" (Piccolo, Reiseführer, Leopold, Chor)3:043Im weißen Rössl, Act I. Dialog0:434Im weißen Rössl, Act I. "Einmal nur - Es muss was Wunderbares sein" (Josepha, Leopold)3:105Im weißen Rössl, Act I. Dialog & "Wir sind die Stubenmädchen - Das ist der Zauber der Saison" (Chor)3:386Im weißen Rössl, Act I. "Wenn das Barometer Sommer macht - Im weißen Rössl am Wolfgangsee" (Dr. Siedler, Josepha, Chor)4:227Im weißen Rössl, Act I. "Im Salzkammergut da ka'mer gut lustig sein" & Dialog (Josepha, Giesecke, Chor)4:528Im weißen Rössl, Act I. "Eine Kuh so wie du" (Chor)1:519Im weißen Rössl, Act I. Dialog0:1010Im weißen Rössl, Act I. "Die ganze Welt ist himmelblau" (Ottilie, Dr. Siedler)2:1511Im weißen Rössl, Act I. Dialog0:1412Im weißen Rössl, Act I. "Im weißen Rössl - Aber meine Herrschaften - Wenn es hier mal richtig regnet" (Leopold, Chor)3:1913Im weißen Rössl, Act II. "Äpfel! Birnen!" (Josepha, Leopold, Chor)1:5314Im weißen Rössl, Act II. Dialog0:3315Im weißen Rössl, Act II. "Für ein Lächeln von ihr - Zuschau'n kann i net" (Leopold)3:1716Im weißen Rössl, Act II. Dialog1:3117Im weißen Rössl, Act II. "Als Sigi in der Wiege lag - Was kann der Sigismund dafür, daß er so schön ist" (Sigismund, Klärchen)2:1718Im weißen Rössl, Act II. Dialog & Radetzky-Marsch2:5419Im weißen Rössl, Act II. Rechtes Bein und linkes Bein2:0820Im weißen Rössl, Act II. "O du mein Österreich - Zuschau'n kann i net - Es muß was Wunderbares sein" (Leopold, Kaiser, Josepha, Siedler, Chor)4:4621Im weißen Rössl, Act III. "Leise, leise" (Chor)0:5822Im weißen Rössl, Act III. Dialog1:0323Im weißen Rössl, Act III. "'s ist einmal im Leben so (Kaiser)2:2824Im weißen Rössl, Act III. "Jagdruf" & Dialog1:0225Im weißen Rössl, Act III. "Früher war ich schüchtern - Und als der Herrgott Mai gemacht" (Klärchen, Sigismund)2:2826Im weißen Rössl, Act III. "Was kann der Sigismund dafür, dass er so schön ist" (Klärchen, Sigismund)0:3927Im weißen Rössl, Act III. "Erst wann's aus sein wird - Ein Veilchen am Hut" (Leopold, Siedler, Ottilie, Chor) Dialog5:3528Im weißen Rössl, Act III. "'s ist einmal im Lebel so" (Josepha)1:2529Im weißen Rössl, Act III. Dialog1:3430Im weißen Rössl, Act III. "Was mein Herz zu sagen hat - Mein Liebeslied muß ein Walzer sein" (Siedler, Ottilie)3:3731Im weißen Rössl, Act III. Dialog0:4532Im weißen Rössl, Act III. "Lasst uns Champus trinken - Eine Kuh so wie du - Im weißen Rössl am Wolfgangsee" (Josepha, Leopold, Ottilie, Siedler, Chor)2:27
EP · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Von Wien in die Welt: Melodien von Ralph BenatzkySearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 14 tracksA1Einleitung A2Ich lade sie ein, Fräulein A3Um ein bisschen Liebe A4Mein Mädel ist nur eine Verkäuferin A5Ja, was ist denn heute los mit mir A6Yes, Sir A7Ich weiss auf der Wieden ein kleines Hotel B1Im Salzkammergut B2Ich muss wieder einmal in Grinzing sein B3Ach, Luise B4's ist einmal im Leben so B5Es muss was Wunderbares sein B6Für dich B7Im Weissen Rössl am Wolfgangsee | 1954 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Ralph Benatzky head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 18 | 78.1th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 3 | 77.1th |
| Studio albums | 2 | 78.8th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 5 | 78.8th |
| Recording span (years) | 3 | 15.8th |
| Genres | 3 | 80.4th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ralph_Benatzky_%281884-1957%29.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/337d0b6a-224f-4206-9533-5f69099d06bbdiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/337d0b6a-224f-4206-9533-5f69099d06bbcore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q213592genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q213592seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Benatzkybiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Benatzky
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Anonymous Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q213592 · MusicBrainz: 337d0b6a-224f-4206-9533-5f69099d06bb
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